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GRAHAM BRINKThe former USF professor writes about his incarceration on terrorism-related charges.
TAMPA - Sami Al-Arian, the former University of South Florida professor awaiting trial on terrorism charges, has written a book of poetry.
The book, titled Conspiring Against Joseph: Reflections of a Prisoner of Conscience in a Federal Penitentiary, contains 62 poems written during the 19 months Al-Arian has been held at the Coleman Correctional Facility. Many of the poems describe the conditions at the prison and the charges Al-Arian faces.
One poem, Innocent, starts:
He's been indicted
The General decided
The paper incited
He must be guilty.
Federal agents arrested Al-Arian and three other men in February 2003 on charges that focus on their alleged role in supporting, promoting and raising funds for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group. Al-Arian has been kept at Coleman without bail. His trial is scheduled to begin in January.In one poem, Al-Arian recounts the humiliation of a strip search at the prison. In another, A Telephone Call, he writes about a guard's reaction when he asks to make a phone call to his son:
I'd have to get permission
From the WardenOr the commission
Maybe Washington, that's my mission
Give me just three days
I'll see what he says.
He came back in a week
With a half smile, tongue in cheek
Your request has been denied
Because security is implied.
The book is published by National Liberty Fund and sells for $14.99.Graham Brink can be reached at 813 226-3365 or brink@sptimes.com